IAIA 2012 Portugal

Australian EIA Practitioners views on addressing climate change

Dr Garry Middle,

Curtin University

Methodology

• Survey Monkey survey• Australian IAIA members emailed –

snowballing• 63 respondents– Most common from State EIA assessing agency

(37%)– Most from Western Australia (54%)

Relevance of CC to EIA

Project EIA

SEA

Degree to which EIA dealt with CC mitigation

Project EIA

SEA

Capacity EIA dealt with CC adaptation

Project EIA

SEA

Main barriers to project EIA being able to address climate change

Main barriers to SEA being able to address climate change

Case study: Effectives of the WA EIA process in addressing EIA

• EIAs between 2000 and 2011• 45 non-urban proposals that had climate

change raised as part of the assessment • 24 EIAs of urban or tourist proposals either on

or near the coast or were inland and subject to storm surge (flooding)

Non-urban

Non urban - mitigation

• The strongest responses – 2 desalination plants (a government agency) – offset some emissions by wind power.

• 1 LNG plant required to implement carbon capture and storage for the reservoir CO2

• Another LNG plant to biologically offset the reservoir CO2.

• Others the EPA assessment was less stringent.

Non urban - adaptation

• EPA noted that the climate was changing and that this needed to be more prominent in future planning

• Increased monitoring of the impacts and implement adaptive management (not specified) in response to changes

• IN SUMMARY – mixed on mitigation and weak on adaptation

Urban – adaptation is an issue

Assessments

• Climate change adaptation not mentioned;• Impact of environment on people not an

environmental factor?

Conclusions

• EIA has capacity to deal with CC• SEA more than project EIA• EIA under performing• Case study backs up survey• Key barriers – – lack of policy framework– Lack of will – political and agency (less so)